Taking Your Own Portraits
An interesting thing that one might not think about when beginning a business or a brand is the fact that you need pictures of yourself. You think about pictures of your products, about descriptions, and preparing your inventory, but pictures of yourself don’t really seem like a thing you’ll need. But it is, especially when you as a person are an integral part of your business/brand.
But starting out there may not be a lot of money to be found, and pictures done by a professional are not cheap. They can actually be rather expensive. So unless you personally know a photographer who is willing to do a favor, or maybe a Groupon (is that still a thing?), then you may have to get creative. And, fun fact, it’s not that hard to get a pretty good self portrait with just a few simple tools.
Read on for my best tips…
The first step is to gather some gather your tools, most of which are inexpensive. You will need your phone, so the quality of the photo can be really dependent on that. But just a good photo of yourself at a decently high resolution will do if your camera phone is a little lacking.
The next tool is a tripod for your phone. The on that I bought also comes with a bluetooth remote which is key to being able to take multiple photos to maximize your chance of getting a good photo. The remote is not absolutely necessary if you have a timer on your camera app, but it does make it incredibly easy. This particular tripod also comes with flexible legs that allows it to be placed in a variety of different locations if needed (say, around the banister of your stairs). This is a useful tool because it allows you to eliminate the selfie-arm and can convince the viewer that these might just be professional pictures. Below is a picture of the type I have, which I bought on Amazon for $14.99:
This is the one I purchased and I’m very happy with it, but you can buy any version that you want. I am not endorsing this one in particular.
You’ll also need to make use of some editing software, and there is A LOT out there to choose from. I have found the easiest way to quickly edit my photos is to use Google Photos, which is where I store all of my photos. The great thing is that you can always undo your changes, and the photos are accessible across multiple devices without much fuss.
There are also several apps you can use for a variety of things, from adding text to your photos to removing unwanted objects. Retouch is one that I use to quickly remove small objects from the background. Of course you can use more involved software like Photoshop if you have it, and most basic editing things are pretty easy to do (just do a quick “how do I…in Photoshop” Google search), but by no means do you have to subscribe to PS. There are so many free services that do the basic editing you would most likely need and that are so much more user friendly that unless you just really like and are proficient at Photoshop, I would stick with the apps.
Lastly, you’ll need a background. And this can be anything, anywhere (for the most part). If you take then outside, especially if there is any identifiable art or architecture included, you might need to ensure you have permission to use them in a professional manner. I avoided this by taking all of my pictures in my house. Here is a sample of some of the best photos from my “shoot”:
The first picture was taken on my stairs, which is how I was able to get a plain background. I also used the app Retouch to remove a baby gate hinge from the background. This photo is a pretty serious looking photo, and probably has the most editing, but I like that I have a very “professional” looking photo if I need it. The second photo was taken in my living room. Fun fact: there are mountains of toys and blankets and little torn up pieces of paper just outside of the frame of this shot. I also editing out my right hand because the remote for my camera was in it and there is a blue light that goes off when you press it, which was captured in the photos. This is a contemplative, mysterious photo, which I like.
The last photo might be my favorite. This was taken by attaching my tripod to a stand that is taller than me (shooting down is also the best form) and I took about 30 photos all at once. I love that my craft space is included, and I think this one best conveys the whimsy and fun energy that I really want to convey in my work. It’s also nice to appear like a real person in a real space that isn’t perfectly appointed.
I also want to address editing. It is really tempting to edit your photos to perfection, especially if you are the main focus and that alone makes you uncomfortable. Knowing that these photos will be put out for the world to see, and knowing the Internet can be a mean place, can really motivate us to really try to put our best (Photoshopped) face forward. But I think that it’s important to be realistic when it comes to editing our photos. I will be the first to say that I love a good filter, but it has to at least look like a real version of me to get on board with it. The fact is that filters and photo editing are so prevalent, over editing a photo won’t really have the desired effect. In fact, it can have quite the opposite, especially if the editing gets into unrealistic territory. Most people can spot a filter at 10 paces. And by no means am I saying don’t use them, I used filters in all the finals photos in this post. My advice is to just use a delicate hand when it comes to filters and editing.
Here is a copy of the unedited and editing version of the same photo:
The picture on the right is obviously the unedited version. The camera angle is wide, the lighting is not optimal, and there is that pesky hinge in the background (hidden due to site cropping here, but trust that it’s there). I brightened this photo using a filter in Google photos, cropped it, removed the hinge, and blurred the background a bit. I was careful not to do too much editing, especially on my face or skin, as that is one of the most obvious edits and often does not look good. The basic edits I did with this photo absolutely improved its quality, but I still feel like I look like me in it - and that is most important in my opinion.
My recommendation is to find a few filters that work for you and your brand asthetic and stick closely to those. I have 3-4 that I use depending on the original photo. I also recommend using a filter or service that allows you to edit your photos in their higher resolution (like Google) rather than filtering a lower quality image (like an Instagram filter). There’s nothing wrong with Instagram filters, but if you want to use that filtered photo in other ways (on a website, for printed material, etc.) be aware it will most likely be a lower quality image and there may be some fuzziness or pixelation if you try to enlarge it in anyway. In my opinion, it’s best to filter the image in it’s higher resolution form through another service, and then post that picture as is to Instagram (unless you know that you will not be using it in any other way).
So these are my tips and tricks to taking your own self portrait. I may one day actually hire someone to come in and take photos of me in my space, when it’s clean and tidy and I’m actually making money from the endeavor. But until then, my cell phone, tripod, and free editing software will have to do!
Feel free to leave any questions about my process below!